5/23/2008 07:17:00 pm -
Reported by
Anthony Weight

The news that Steven Moffat is to replace Russell T Davies as the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who has garnered a large amount of media reaction, particularly in the UK. On Tuesday after the news broke the story was even featured on the BBC News television channel, as well as in the hourly bulletin on BBC Radio 2, the most listened to radio station in Britain. The BBC News website also ran an article, which was the main front page feature in their Entertainment section after the news broke on Tuesday.

The story ran in British national daily newspapers, such as The Mirror and The Times, and today The Independentpublished an opinion piece by Thomas Sutcliffe, bemoaning the fact that Moffat's talents were, like Davies's, to be wasted on a children's programme such as Doctor Who. Industry newspapers such as The Stage, Broadcast and even the Hollywood Reporter in the United States ran articles on the news.

Reaction has not been limited to news sources - blogs have been particularly active in relaying and commenting upon the news. Doctor Who scriptwriter Paul Cornell, celebrated comics writer and novelist Neil Gaiman, writer Warren Ellisand musical comedian Mitch Benn are all amongst the many hundreds to have passed comment on the news in their online journals.